This article, authored by Mariane Angela is republished under the Creative Commons “CC BY-NC-ND” license with permission from The Daily Caller News Foundation.
Democratic New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani used a St. Patrick’s Day event Tuesday at Gracie Mansion to accuse Israel of carrying out a “genocide” against Palestinians and to criticize what he called global silence.
Speaking during a breakfast honoring Irish New Yorkers, Mamdani drew a line between Ireland’s history of oppression and the plight of Palestinians today. He praised former Irish President Mary Robinson for her human rights record, using her as a counterpoint to what he called “deafening silence” from others.
“I say this as over the past few years, as we’ve witnessed a genocide unfold before our eyes, there has been deafening silence from so many,” Mamdani said. “For those who have long cared about universal human rights and the extension of them to Palestinians, silence, however, is nothing new – for Palestinians are so often left to weep alone. Yet former President Robinson has never been silent.”
The mayor said Irish history is rooted in hardship and discrimination and that this experience should push people to recognize and speak out against injustice elsewhere.
“Who can better understand those who weep than those who have been made to weep for so long? The story of the Irish, both in Ireland and in New York City, is at one time a story of oppression, of subjugation, and of discrimination,” Mamdani added. “As we know, it was on Irish soil that the British Empire developed their colonial project. So much of the exploitation later imposed elsewhere across the world was first honed in the plantations of Ireland.”
This isn’t the first time Mamdani has drawn attention for his rhetoric on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Mamdani has been known to face criticism over his responses to pro-Palestinian issues, including initially declining to directly condemn Hamas during a 2025 interview.
“I don’t have opinions about the future of Hamas and Israel beyond the question of justice and safety and the fact that anything has to abide by international law,” Mamdani said in October. “And that applies to Hamas. That applies to the Israeli military. It applies to anyone you could ask me about.”
Mamdani has taken a controversial position on the issue. He has also faced scrutiny for statements surrounding the Oct. 7 attacks, where he was accused of focusing criticism on Israel while giving only minimal criticism of Hamas.
“Two years ago today, Hamas carried out a horrific war crime, killing more than 1,100 Israelis and kidnapping 250 more,” Mamdani wrote in the statement. “I mourn these lives and pray for the safe return of every hostage still held and for every family whose lives were torn apart by these atrocities.”
“In the aftermath of that day, Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu and the Israeli government launched a genocidal war: a death toll that now far exceeds 67,000; with the Israeli military bombing homes, hospitals, and schools into rubble,” Mamdani added. “Every day in Gaza has become a place where grief itself has run out of language. I mourn these lives and pray for the families that have been shattered. Our government has been complicit through it all.”
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